Commuting to NYC

[gerard]

I am looking for a place to buy but the main problem is that I work in the city and need to find a place in an area that is a good commute to the city. I am in Belleville now and its not a bad commute but I was wondering what other areas may be good. I want to try and keep the commute to about an hour.... Oh, and my budget isn't unlimited so buying something in Hoboken isn't going to work

[HDawesome]

East Rutherford (park and rides), Kearny, Newark (Path Train / Light Rail), Clifton( Rt. 3 / P&Rs) Jersey City (Light Rail).. You won't always find the cheapest places, but you won't break the bank either.

Don't let some of the names scare you, there are quite a number of good neighborhoods in those towns.

[HDawesome]

You can even go back as far as Riverdale, Pompton Lakes, Bloomingdale. (About 45 minutes from the City in light traffic) Rush hour will be a little tough but you might be able to sneak in in under an hour.

[hendrix328]

I'm in the same boat except I'm not looking to buy...just rent. I was looking at Jersey City - Journal Square area (PATH train is about 15 minutes to downtown). Is anyone familiar enough with that are to tell what neighborhoods are safe enough for a single female to walk 2-4 blocks from the PATH train between 7-11pm? Are there any?

[gerard]

I wouldnt do JC being a single guy let alone being a single female. I was actually looking at a pretty nice place in Kearny but I couldnt figure out how to get to the city, not really a fan of the PATH was thinking about the North Bergen park and ride but I gotta take the turnpike from Kearny to get there, unless I am missing something maybe?

[HDawesome]

Well Kearny Boarders Newark thats why I mentioned it ... Newark is a pretty good HUB for transportation with all the buses and the trains. A friend of mine lived in Newark and worked in the City for a long time without ever owning a car and he made it 'to and from' relatively painlessly.

As far as Jersey City, like anything else there are good and bad sections. Most of the areas around the Light Rail/Path stations are pretty safe during Business Hours. A lot of High End Employees of the City normally use Jersey City to travel to and from, after nightfall though with any city I wouldnt really advise walking around by yourself.

My best guess for either of you would be to talk to co-workers and scope neighborhoods by car and see if it looks rough. Sometimes these towns get a bad image but Jersey City is pretty well policed in the business locations and it shouldn't be that much of a problem.